The Lightning's medical room is filling up, leaving the available number of healthy bodies dropping like flies.

With D Mike Lundin and C Nate Thompson already injured and out of the lineup before Tuesday's loss to Buffalo, the Lightning lost LW Ryan Malone and D Matt Smaby during the game and finished with 16 healthy skaters.

When any will be back is in doubt.

Malone's immediate future is of greatest concern. He left in the second period Tuesday after crashing into the Buffalo net. Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman said Malone underwent an MRI for an abdominal-area injury different than the middle-body injury that kept him out of the five previous games.

Yzerman said they would not determine how long Malone might be out until the results from the MRI were back, but Coach Guy Boucher said after Tuesday's game Malone would be out "for a while.''

"It seems that every team at some point gets hit with a flurry of injuries, and we are going through that right now,'' Yzerman said.

Lundin has missed two games with an undisclosed middle-body injury. He received acupuncture treatment the past few days to try to figure out the muscular issue he is feeling.

Thompson's head hit the boards during Sunday's overtime victory against St. Louis, leaving him woozy. Though Thompson has not been diagnosed with a concussion, the team is waiting to see how he responds in the next couple of days before having him try a workout. Yzerman said Wednesday that Thompson reported feeling much better.